Suggest Itinerary for Greece/Turkey - 3 weeks
 

Can anyone comment on this itinerary I am planning for us (couple, in 30's). 12 days in Santorini (3-4 days?), then Paros, Naxos, Sifnos, checking out diff. islands (?what else), back to Athens (besides Acropolis, perhaps Meteora which ppl rave about), day trips to Hydra (?). On the back end, we plan to fly to Istanbul from Athens, spending 4 nights Istanbul and 3 nights Cappadocia. Am I missing something? We are coming from Bermuda and are looking for occasional nights out, adventure (scootering) and romance, nice beaches. Help!

I thought someone else might answer you on this, but it looks as though I'm the first. <BR><BR>I've been to Greece twice - once back in the mid-70's (backpacking) and one in September 2000. I wish I had stopped off in Santorini in the 70's. It's stunning and I'm glad we saw it, but it's very very touristy now. We had 4 full days there and that was definitely too long. I was on Naxos both trips and still enjoyed it - I found it quite a charming island still with a lot to offer. The old Venetian part of the town is fascinating. (In the 70's, I wasn't interested in that kind of thing, so it was all new to me this time around!) Paros would be similar in geography to Naxos - you can literally see one island from the other on a clear day. I didn't visit Paros this time - I planned the last trip to see different areas (i.e., distinct from one another). I saw Crete the first time - big island and lots to see, but it's also probably changed from when I was there, so I can't offer any advice. Rhodes is very touristy, but I enjoyed it a lot. We had just 2 nights there, but I could see staying longer. We used Rhodes as our jumping off point to take the ferry to Marmaris in Turkey, where we then headed south along the Mediterranean coast to Fethiye and Kalkan. That area is amazing, and was definitely a highpoint of the trip. We had a week there and I'm planning to go back to Turkey as soon as I can. It is an incredible country and I'd love to see more. Next time we'll go to Istanbul and Cappodocia. <BR><BR>I actually liked Athens and wished we had more than 2 nights there (we should have had more time there and cut back our time on Santorini). Lots to see - sure it's a big city and it's dirty and crowded, but I also happen to like cities. <BR><BR>I didn't get to the Peloponnesus (spelling?) this time. I spent about a week travelling around there the first trip and enjoyed it. If we hadn't gone to Turkey, we probably would have gone there. <BR><BR>We didn't rent scooters. Car rentals (for small, stick shift cars) were really cheap (even with my Canadian dollar), so we found that better for us. I suppose if you want adventure, scooters might be more exciting.<BR><BR>I'm sure you'll have a fabulous trip!